1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control assembly for the interior of an automotive vehicle, and more particularly to a control assembly for controlling vehicle occupant systems such as an audio system or a climate control system.
2. Description of Related Art
The instrument panel of an automotive vehicle typically has an array of controls composed of various button switches, dials, levers, and the like for controlling vehicle occupant systems such as an audio system, a climate control system for adjusting interior temperature, or a car navigation system, among others. Various approaches have been taken to enhance the operation of the control array by vehicle occupants.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a conventional instrument panel has a center panel 100 provided in the interior compartment of the vehicle. The center panel 100 defines a window 101 and an opening 102, and has a cover surface 103 facing the interior compartment. Behind the center panel 100, a navigation device 200, compact disc (CD) drive 201, a tuner amplifier 202, and a cassette tape drive 203 are accommodated in and secured to a vehicle body with brackets 204. An air conditioning device (not shown) and a rear case 300 for attaching a climate control circuit board 301 are disposed under the cassette tape drive 203.
The navigation device 200, CD drive 201, tuner amplifier 202 and cassette tape drive 203 are electrically connected to an audio circuit board 205, which is secured to the vehicle body via these devices. The navigation device 200 is itself secured to the vehicle body with the brackets 204 and oriented so that a display screen appears in the window 101. A light leading lens 206 and audio-navigation control elements 207, such as various switches and dials, are disposed in front of the audio circuit board 205. The audio-navigation control parts 207 operably appear in the opening 102 of the center panel 100 through an audio cover face plate 208.
A climate control circuit board 301 is secured to a front surface of the rear case 300, and a light-leading lens 302 is disposed in front of the climate control circuit board 301. In addition, climate control elements 303, such as various button switches and dials, are also disposed in front of the climate control circuit board 301. The climate control elements 303 operably appear in the opening 102 of the center panel 100 through a climate control cover face plate 304 under the audio cover face plate 208.
To install the above-described functional devices and center panel 100 in a vehicle body, the following steps are taken. The navigation device 200 is installed in the vehicle body. The CD drive 201 and tuner amplifier 202 are assembled with the audio circuit board 205, light-leading lens 206, audio-navigation control parts 207 and audio face plate 208 to form a sub assembly and then the sub assembly is installed in the vehicle body. The cassette tape drive 203 is assembled with the rear case 300, climate control circuit board 301, light-leading lens 302, climate control elements 303 and climate control face plate 304 to form a sub assembly, and then the sub assembly is installed in the vehicle body. And finally, the center panel 100 is secured, thus completing the assembling and installing steps.
The above-described sequence of assembling and installing steps cannot, however, be accomplished with a desirable degree of productivity. The number of parts is high, which makes the assembling and installing work difficult, increases the number of steps required, and increases the time required to complete the task. Furthermore, a separation line appears between the audio face plate 208 and the climate control face plate 304 after assembly, which degrades the appearance of the instrument panel. Moreover, the placement of the audio-navigation control elements 207 and climate control elements 303 on the center panel is restricted, since they must be assembled with their corresponding face plates 208 and 304. The possible positions in which the controls 207 and 303 can appear are thus limited, thereby reducing the design options for the instrument panel.